


Strangely Familiar

by whom_ping_willow



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Birthday, Drabble, Fluff, Light Angst, M/M, Number Twelve Grimmauld Place, Past Relationship(s), Post-Sirius Black in Azkaban, Short One Shot, Sirius Black's Birthday, not that this is an angsty fic but i'm tagging it anyway, wolfstar
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-03
Updated: 2019-11-03
Packaged: 2021-01-21 09:16:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,634
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21297104
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/whom_ping_willow/pseuds/whom_ping_willow
Summary: Sirius turned the keys in his hand, looking at them in awe. Oh, how he had missed these things. Well, really it was the motorcycle rides he had missed: the wind through his hair, the rumble of the engine below him, but most of all, the freedom of flying so far above everything.“But-” he looked up a Remus, a frown deepening the lines in his face. “I’m not allowed,” he said.Remus arched an eyebrow as he looked down at Sirius. “Come on,” he said. “You really think I’m going to let you stay cooped up in here on your birthday?”-It's Sirius' birthday and Remus has a special surprise for him.
Relationships: Sirius Black/Remus Lupin
Comments: 8
Kudos: 65





	Strangely Familiar

Number 12 Grimmauld Place really was a grim place to be. Sirius had finally managed to make his mother, or rather the portrait of her, shut up. But if he was being honest, the silence was almost worse. **  
**

He hadn’t noticed Remus enter the room before he sat down at the old couch next to him. 

“Hey,” Remus greeted him awkwardly. 

Sirius turned his head to look at his… friend? It felt like an eternity ago since he had been able to confidently call Remus his friend. Now he wasn’t sure what they were. 

“Hey,” he said. The words came out strange; his throat was rough like sandpaper, as though he hadn’t talked to anyone for days. Thinking of it, that may have been true. 

Remus’ lips curled up into a soft smile. “Happy birthday,” he said.

“Huh?”

Sirius had forgotten all about that. He hadn’t even known what day it was.

“Happy birthday,” Remus repeated. “What, did you forget your own birthday?”

“No,” he lied, shrugging as he looked into the fireplace. There were only embers left, but he hadn’t bothered getting up to start the fire again. “I just didn’t think anyone else would remember.”

Remus hummed thoughtfully, following his eyes to the embers in the fireplace. “Well, I remembered,” he told him. Sirius could see him, out of the corner of his eye, turn back to look at him. “And I have a present for you, actually.”

“What?” Sirius looked back at him. He was greeted by soft green eyes with a hint of a genuine smile, something he hadn’t seen in a long time. “No, Remus, you didn’t have to get me anything,” he protested, but Remus held up a finger to silence him.

He reached into the pocket of his worn-out coat and, a moment later, drew out something Sirius couldn’t see. It was clearly small enough to fit in his hand.

“You really didn’t have to,” he said, looking at Remus’ hand, closed around the small object. 

“Shh,” Remus shushed him. “You’ll love this, I promise.”

He opened his hand to reveal a pair of keys which, at first, despite being strangely familiar, seemed like a perfectly ordinary pair of keys to Sirius. But with a second look, he realized why they seemed so familiar. 

“No way,” he said, looking at Remus whose smile grew bigger. “Remus, are these…?”

Remus nodded. “The keys to your motorcycle,” he confirmed. “I borrowed it from Hagrid.”

Sirius looked from Remus to the keys in his hand, unable to speak for a moment. 

“Come on,” Remus said, dropping the keys into Sirius’ own hand and getting up from the couch. “Let’s take that old piece of junk for a ride.”

Sirius turned the keys in his hand, looking at them in awe. Oh, how he had missed these things. Well, really it was the motorcycle rides he had missed: the wind through his hair, the rumble of the engine below him, but most of all, the freedom of flying so far above everything. 

“But-” he looked up a Remus, a frown deepening the lines in his face. “I’m not allowed,” he said. 

Remus arched an eyebrow as he looked down at Sirius. “Come on,” he said. “You really think I’m going to let you stay cooped up in here on your birthday?”

-

Sirius couldn’t help but smile when he saw his motorcycle, standing like a majestic stallion on the pavement outside his door. He couldn’t remember last time he had smiled like this. A real, genuine smile that he felt in his whole body. 

Getting up on the motorcycle felt so familiar. It was almost like dejá-vu: Had he really done this before or was it a memory from a dream or another lifetime?

He turned to Remus. “So, er… Are you coming?” he asked.

Remus was hesitant as he got up behind him, and Sirius couldn’t blame him. This kind of closeness was unfamiliar to him too, with Remus’ chest literally pressed up against his back. 

A strange tingle went down his spine as Remus’ hands clasped around him to not fall off once they drove. Or flew. 

“Okay, you can start the motorcycle,” Remus muttered, and even without looking, Sirius could tell he was blushing. 

The engine roared beneath them and Sirius’ face split into a grin. Words couldn’t describe how much he had missed this feeling. 

“Where are we gonna go?” he asked, yelling so Remus could hear him over the sound of the engine.

“That’s a surprise,” Remus said, his mouth so close to Sirius’ ear he didn’t have to shout. “Just go, I’ll give you instructions.” 

Flying was just as incredible as Sirius had remembered it. Perhaps even more. He watched as the city beneath them grew smaller and smaller. It was like leaving all his problems behind, along with Grimmauld Place. 

Remus didn’t seem quite as happy about the ordeal. He gripped tightly around Sirius, all awkwardness gone, replaced by what was obviously fear. Still, he muttered directions in Sirius’ ear.

“Just a little further,” Remus told him, after a while of flying.

“Still not gonna tell me where we’re going?” Sirus asked impatiently.

“No,” Remus said. “That would ruin the surprise.”

-

Even as they landed, Sirius still had no idea where they were. Remus let got of him and they got off, after parking the motorcycle by the foot of a tall building in an abandoned part of muggle London. 

“Where are we?” he asked, turning to Remus who seemed to still be recovering from the ride.

Remus gave him a secretive look before walking to the door of the clearly abandoned building. “This way,” he said, before getting out his wand and muttering _Alohomora_ to open it. “You may recognize it when we get there.”

“Get where?” Sirius asked, but Remus had already disappeared inside. Sirius followed him up the many flights of stairs, wondering where he was taking him.

They kept walking, for longer than Sirius had expected. Panting from the effort of following Remus up the stars, he wondered if they were going all the way to the roof.

Turns out they were. After what seemed like an eternity of walking, the stairs ended with another door, which Remus opened. 

The rooftop was flat, a large area with a view of what seemed like the whole city. Sirius walked to one end, gripping the railing as he looked over London with the awe of a child at Christmas. 

“You can see the Big Ben from here,” he noted, a smile spreading on his lips. Suddenly, he recognized the place. “Remus,” he said, turning around to face him. “We’ve been here before, haven’t we?”

Remus nodded, leaning against the railing beside him, looking out over the city as well. “It’s a long time ago,” he said. “I wasn’t sure if you remembered the night we spent here.”

“Oh, I remember,” Sirius said. “You took me here on New Year’s Eve. 1980, if I’m remembering correctly.”

Remus nodded, and Sirius continued:

“I remember how we watched the fireworks from up here, feeling like all of our worries, everything about the war, was so far away. Like it could never reach us…” He sighed, the memory of that night so fresh in his mind, like it hadn’t happened over 10 years ago. 

“Yeah.” He could tell, without even looking, that Remus was smiling. “That’s why I brought you here today as well.” Sirius turned his head, right as Remus did too, and their eyes met. “I thought you might need to get away for a bit.”

Sirius nodded. “Thank you,” he said. “Really. I can’t believe you’d do all this for me.”

“Hey, of course,” Remus said with a soft smile. “It isn’t the birthday party you deserve,” he said, looking into Sirius’ eyes. “But I hope you’re happy with it anyway.”

Sirius nodded. “Are you kidding?” he said. “It’s perfect.”

Remus chuckled. “Wait,” he said. “I have to show you something.”

He stepped a few steps back and bent down, casting _Lumos_ to illuminate the wall.

“What?” Sirius asked. “What is it?”

Remus quietly moved his wand from side to side, as though he was looking for something on the wall. After a while, he exclaimed, “Ahá! Sirius, come over here!”

Sirius bent down next to him, looking at where the light from his wand was illuminating the wall.

Into the wall a message had been etched: 

_Moony and Padfoot were here!_

“Shit, yeah.” Sirius laughed. “I remember this.”

Remus smiled, running a hand over the engraving. “I was wondering if it would still be here,” he said.

They both looked up at the same time, and Sirius was surprised at how close their heads were. He could feel Remus’ breath against his lips as the two of them looked at each other. He wasn’t sure if they stayed like that for hours, or only for a second, but just as he was getting up, Remus leaned forward, pressing his lips to Sirius’. 

Like everything else today, kissing Remus felt new and scary, yet so familiar at the same time. Like coming back to a place he hadn’t visited, only to find it had barely changed. 

He brought a hand up to Remus’ head, tangling his hands in the short curls as he leaned into the kiss. 

They broke apart and as though it had never happened, Remus looked up at the sky, frowning. “It’s about to get dark,” he said. “We should probably get back.”

Sirius sighed, a sinking feeling in his stomach. “I was hoping we could stay to watch the sunset,” he mumbled. 

Remus looked back at him, his face softening as he reached for Sirius’ hand, intertwining their fingers. “Alright,” he said. “I suppose we can stay a little longer.”

**Author's Note:**

> thank you for reading! 
> 
> follow me on tumblr! username: whom-ping-willow


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